Arkansas coach Bret Bielema is awaiting a letter of intent from Alex Collins, but Collins' mom has other ideas. / Gareth Patterson, AP

by Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports

by Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports

No matter what, regardless of where you want to go to school, your national signing day is not complete until your legal guardian signs on the dotted line.

It's called a National Letter of Intent: Every prospect needs to complete the form, apply his signature and fax it over to his school of choice ‚?? and it includes a space for his guardian, often a parent, to apply his or her own signature.

And what happens if a parent doesn't sign? Well, the NLI is useless otherwise; unless a player is over 21, his letter of intent cannot be used by any NCAA school if not affixed with a guardian's John Hancock.

Plantation, Fla., running back Alex Collins is learning this fact the hard way. Collins, a four-star prospect, gave a verbal commitment to Arkansas on Monday; as of this morning, he was expected to sign with the Razorbacks.

One problem: His mom won't let him sign. Worse yet, she's taken his National Letter of Intent and hit the road, essentially preventing Collins from giving his official commitment to any school on national signing day.

"The papers are not there. I've been told by two different sources that Alex Collins' mom confiscated the papers and took off and ran with them. They are looking for her currently. From what I understand, Alex is not at the school right now, he is looking for his mom. She was quite torn up about him leaving."

Obviously, Collins' mom would like him to stay closer to home ‚?? maybe Miami (Fla.), some have suggested. Steve Gorten of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel spoke with the athletic director at South Plantation High School, who said, "At this time there's no indication of anything other than the original plan. The family just wants more time."

Arkansas, Miami, Florida State, wherever‚?¶ Collins isn't going anywhere until he finds his mother, currently AWOL with his NLI.

This has happened before: In 2011, cornerback Floyd Raven's mother sent his letter of intent to Mississippi with her son's forged signature. Eventually, Raven was able to get his way and signed with Texas A&M.

Listen to your mother. And get her signature on your letter of intent.